The Young And The Hopeless
by S. Mark Gunther
Summary: Todd likes someone...but whom? This is slash, so be forewarned.


The Young and The Hopeless  
By S. Mark Gunther 

Todd Tolensky lay on his bed and sighed. He could hear Pietro rushing about his room getting things ready for his date with Evan and he felt lonely and alone. In the weeks that had followed Pietro's coming out to the rest of the house, things had been more then a little tense between certain members of the Brotherhood. Mainly Lance and Pietro were fighting all the time over little things it seemed. But Todd, being the brilliant sneak that he was hopefully going to be known for in the future knew the real reason why Lance was mad at Pietro. He had seen Lance and Pietro kissing before Pietro came out and he had known that Lance really had enjoyed it. So for Pietro to choose Evan as his lover instead of Lance made Lance angry and Todd knew it.

The fact that Todd had a massive crush on Lance didn't make things much easier, either.

Todd turned over and sighed again, the frown lines on his face becoming much more profound and direct. He knew he wanted to have Lance hold him in his arms more and more as the days went by. He knew he liked girls a lot...but there was just something about Lance that made him want to give himself over to the rock tumbler, body and soul. He wanted to be Lance's boyfriend, no matter what it took. He didn't, however, want to get involved in the soap opera that was Lance and Pietro's relationship. Or what remained of it, he bitterly reminded himself. He knew full well that if he had been in Pietro's position, he so would not have let Lance go. Lance was too good a find to let go.

Todd rolled onto his back and listened as Pietro sped out of the house, his rush of wind pulling on the house very slightly. He rolled back over and waited for the house to empty some more before he emerged from his comfortable place. Minutes passed and Todd continued to think about kissing Lance and having Lance make love to him in a very personal way. Soon, the frog boy began to get hungry and he hopped down to the kitchen to see what was in the fridge to eat. He found the kitchen empty and the fridge surprisingly full of food. He made himself a sandwich and ate it in the darkness, not wanting anyone to know he was there. Soon he was finished and he hopped back into the hallway to proceed up the stairs but he was stopped by the flickering light of the television in the common room.

As Todd hopped in, he noticed that Lance was sitting on the couch in front of the TV, looking very sad and very lonely. Todd hopped over and sat next to Lance and for a long moment, neither boy spoke. Lance knew that Todd had hopped next to him but he chose to do nothing. For once, Lance decided not to do anything about anyone else around him.

"You ok, Lance?" Todd said softly.

"Yeah." Lance replied slowly and softly.

"Are ya sure, man?"

"Ye...No, man. I'm really not ok."

"How so?" Todd asked softly, trying to keep his voice light.

"Relationship issues, Todd. You wouldn't understand them," Lance said dismissively. "You wouldn't deal well with them either. No one else seems to want to."

"Try me."

"I really don't wanna talk, Todd. I just want to sit here and look at the snow on the television and think about how much of an asshole Pietro can be when he's full of himself." Lance let out a snort and looked off into the distance of the room for a moment. "I just want to be alone with my thoughts."

"...Your thoughts about how you should be the one dating him and not Evan, yo?" Todd asked as lightly as he could. He fully expected Lance to say something sharp and nasty back at him, or even worse, for Lance to hit him for what he said. What he didn't expect was for Lance to look at him for a long, long time and then turn back to face the TV, his face full of unshed tears.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Funny...how did you find out I wanted Pietro, Todd?" Lance asked lightly and softly, his voice deadened by the shock of being outed.

"I...I saw you and him kissing once, yo. I wasn't spying...much, but I just happened to see you guys making out and I kinda didn't want to say anything too soon," Todd said softly as he still made sure he was in quick leaping range in case Lance's temper got the best of him. Lance shook his head and smiled sadly, a tear falling down his cheek.

"I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I...I just wanted him to like me like he likes Evan. But even more..."

"Even more what? You wanted him to fuck you, yo?"

"No!" Lance answered back angrily, making Todd flinch for a moment. Lance settled back down on the couch after seeing what his yelling had done. He motioned for Todd to return to his previous position on the couch which was quickly done by the frog boy. "No...I mean, I like Pietro a lot...but I didn't want to fuck him or have him fuck me. I wasn't in it for that."

"Then why are you sad he left you?"

"It's not him leaving me, per se...it's me being without someone to hug and kiss and make out with and want to maybe learn how to love. I mean, it's not like Pietro's the easiest person to like, let alone love." A pause. "I guess I just want to know that I'll have another chance to find someone who makes me feel like I did when I kissed Pietro."

"His kissing meant that much to you?" Todd asked, his voice beginning to soften even more.

"Not his kissing specifically, kissing guys in general makes me really smile. I like kissing guys and boys and such. I really want to see what it's like to make love to a guy I like a lot and who likes me back. But I want to find the right one to really kiss for good. I'm tired of giving my love to guys who can't accept it just as it is." Lance fell silent again and for a long moment, neither boy spoke. Then Todd slid closer to Lance and slid his hand over Lance's. Lance looked down to see what was happening then he looked at Todd's face. He saw the smaller boy was softly, shyly smiling at him. Todd then leaned up and kissed Lance's cheek, softly holding the kiss for a moment. He pulled back and kept on holding Lance's hand.

"Well."

"Well what, yo?"

"Well this is an interesting development," Lance said softly. His hand reflexively came out and touched the small of Todd's cheek. Todd smiled softly and rubbed his cheek against his hand, absorbing the feelings emanating from the brown haired boy. "You like me, Todd?"

"Yeah. A lot, yo."

"...you do realize that I'm still missing Pietro, don't you?"

"Yeah. But I've been waiting this long, yo. I figure I can wait a little longer..." Todd said softly, taking one of his semi-webbed hands and touching Lance's chest softly. Lance sighed a little at the feeling the slight boy's contact and he wished he had known that Todd liked him before he got involved with Pietro. Lance looked down at Todd and saw a pair of amber rimmed yellow eyes staring back at him. In the darkness of the night, they looked so alluring, so enticing, that it was all Lance could do to not kiss and fuck Todd right then and there. But as much as he felt the desire for contact rush through him, he knew it wasn't the time for it. The time for love between them might never come unless something was done between he and Pietro.

"Todd, let's pause this for now." Lance said softly, taking one of the boy's hands from his chest and placing it at his side. "I need to talk to Pietro and you need sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow."

"We?"

"Yes, we. But you're not going to get anything from me until you get rest. So go to bed," Lance said firmly yet gently. He didn't want his mind to be clouded by Todd's feelings when he waited for Pietro. "I'm going to wait for him here till he comes in and when he does, i'm going to tell him how I feel then try to work something out."

"...I...I really don't want to go, Lance. You know I like you now, yo. How can I leave?" Todd said softly, his heart breaking softly inside. Lance saw Todd's eyes going soft silver-blue and he knew he had touched a nerve inside the smaller boy. He wished deep down that this was easier.

"Let me promise you this: When I decide what I'm going to do about Pietro, I'll come up to your room and tell you. Ok?"

"...ok." And with that, Todd kissed Lance on the cheek again and hopped off out of the room. Lance rubbed at the light coating of very slick yet very warm slime that was left on his cheek. Instinctively, he licked the tip of his finger. The slime tasted slightly sweet and tangy; Todd's taste was almost too rich, it was so good. Lance smiled softly before realizing why the smaller boy was gone. He settled back in the couch and wiped at his dry eyes. Lance knew Pietro would be coming home from his date rather soon and he was going to settle things with the speedster as soon as possible.

***** 

**A/N: **Well, for all my regular readers, this might be a shock but for anyone who's actually read my Ranma 1/2 work, they should know I'm a serious slash/yaoi lover. But this is finally the first idea that holds weight that I like.  
  
Anyway, this is going to have only one more part, seeing as this is going to only be a two part story. All that will be said will be said in the next part. Plus, if the response to this and the next is good, I might do a director's cut of stuff. Holla back.


End file.
